Padma abuzz with activities

The landscape at the Padma bridge site is changing fast.

Large excavators and cranes, dump trucks, bulldozers, loaders and dredgers are in operation round the clock on both sides of the Padma at Mawa and Janjira, around 50kms from the capital.

Workers are busy building approach roads. Piling, dredging and river training are going on at full throttle.

When night falls, the entire area takes a different look as the massive work continues under floodlight.

At daytime, the vast construction site at Mawa easily draws attention of anyone travelling between the capital and the southwest region.

A newly built underpass on the approach road. The photos were taken yesterday. Photo: Amran Hossain

Gigantic iron pipes of up to 120 metres in length are being made at the site, which can be seen even from the middle of the mighty river.

Huge cranes load the pipes into megaships, which then carry those from Mawa's Kumarbhog point to the piling sites.

Similar cranes have been placed at different points for constructing approach roads, and also for piling and river training. Many dredgers are also in operation at different points of the river.

On Sunday, housewife Benu Akhter, who was going to Shariatpur by a speedboat through the Padma, expressed surprise at the brisk pace of construction work.

“It seems our dream is finally coming true,” she said gladly.

Hasan Hawlader, who lives in Mawa, said, “At the beginning, we did not believe that the bridge would be built. Today we feel happy to see that our dream will come true.”

The 75-year-old man thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her strong determination to build the 6.15 km-long bridge.

Like Benu and Hasan, many people told this correspondent that they felt happy to see the rapid progress in construction work.

A land leveller is at work on an approach road to the Padma Bridg. Photo: Amran Hossain

Thousands of concrete blocks were piled up on either side of the Padma for river training.

The project sites are teeming with local and foreign engineers, officials and workers. Army personnel were monitoring work of the approach roads and giving instructions to workers. 

Piles of sand, stone, coal and brick were kept at Mawa intersection for constructing a 1.6 km-long approach road.

On the other side of the river, trucks were bringing sand, cement, stone and soil for a 10.5 km-long approach road at Janjira point. Loaders and excavators were also at work.

Project officials said around 60 percent work of the approach road had already been done.

They also mentioned that construction of six bridges and 13 underpasses, which are part of the road, is almost complete.

The pace of work quickened in the last few weeks, as the prime minister is expected to visit the sites on December 12 to officially inaugurate the construction of the main bridge.

Construction of the road is in progress. The photos were taken at Kawrakandi and Mawa points of the Padma yesterday. Photo: Amran Hossain

Officials involved in the project said soil test was already done at 16 of the 30 piling sites for the four-lane road and rail bridge.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and senior officials of his ministry visit the sites almost every day to supervise work.

Talking to The Daily Star recently, the minister said, “Padma bridge is no longer a dream. It's a reality now.  We are on track and we will complete the project in time.”

Asked, Padma Bridge Project Director Shafiqul Islam said the work would gather pace gradually, and hopefully the bridge would be open to public by December 2018.

The government is building the bridge with its own funds of Tk 28,000 crore, as the donors, including the World Bank, suspended their pledged assistance for Bangladesh's largest infrastructure project over an allegation of corruption conspiracy.

China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Construction Company is building the main bridge, which will establish direct rail communications between the capital and the country's southwest region.

Another major component of the project is river training, which is being carried out by another Chinese company, Sinohydro Corporation Ltd.

Local firms have been constructing the approach roads since 2013, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of next year.

Bangladesh Army, Buet and Korea Expressway Corporation and Associates are supervising construction of the bridge that is expected to boost the country's trade, and development and economic activities.